Movie Review of Sherlock Holmes (2009)

The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage. Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves but are like heat haze.
- The Buddha, The Teaching of the Buddha

Robert Downey Jr. makes an excellent obsessive, tough, scruffy Holmes. Jude Law is his saner, resilient, compassionate side-kick Watson. Irene Adler makes a beautiful foil for Sherlock. Mark Strong’s portrayal of the ambitious, deceitful Lord Blackwood is straight out of a DC comic.

All the clues are laid out for a good detective to solve, but Holmes is the one to put them together in a meaningful way for the audience. The plot is complex, the characters colourful, and the villain grandiose. However, there were moments when we were bored. It was difficult, at times, to understand the speech due to the accents, occasional mumbling, and poor quality sound. Victorian England was vividly pictured; the audience could almost smell the pollution and stench.

On a personal note, my husband and I visited the Sherlock Holmes pub in London, England where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many of his stories. Much of the original atmosphere has been preserved. However, you have as much chance of getting a seat as winning the lottery.